Brigham Sinclair
Brigham Sinclair is the Chief of Detectives in CSI:NY. He is portrayed by Mykelti Williamson. Background Sinclair was hired by the NYPD when Rudy Giuliani was still mayor alongside Mac Taylor and several others. Sinclair eventually reached the rank of Captain and is assigned to run the 35th precinct with Lieutenant Stanton Gerrard. Sinclair eventually worked his way up to Chief of Detectives and started planning to run for Commissioner. He had all the other people hired under Giuliani forced into retirement or promoted to powerless administrative jobs, save Mac. Season Three Cold Reveal Chief Sinclair first appears alongside Inspector Stanton Gerrard at a press briefing where reporters ask why the DA's office isn't charging Detective Mac Taylor with Clay Dobson's murder. Sinclair says their investigation was through and their wasn't enough evidence to press criminal charges. Sinclair reminds the reporters that Dobson killed two women they know of and Mac is a highly decorated detective. When asked if he thinks Mac pushed Dobson, Sinclair states only Mac and Dobson know the answer to that question but promises the he will exhaust all the resources at his disposal to find the truth. To this end, Sinclair launches an internal investigation of Mac to appease the media and to force Mac out. Mac visits Sinclair in his office and asks him to drop the internal investigation, but Sinclair refuses. Sinclair and Mac argue about each others perceptions of the other and the public's perception of the NYPD. Mac leaves, promising Sinclair a fight he won't soon forget. ...Comes Around Sinclair and Gerrard run into Detective Donald Flack, Jr. just as he is set to testify at Mac's disciplinary hearing. Sinclair and Gerrard comment on how Mac's conduct isn't what the department needs and pressure Flack into turning against Mac. Sinclair holds a press conference where he states Mac's fate is in the hands of the administrative judge holding the hearing and not no one wants this hearing but it must happen so the people can have faith that the NYPD isn't above the law. Mac visits Sinclair in his office while he is meeting with Gerrard to confront the both of them. Mac tells them he intends to testify at a departmental hearing against Gerrard. Mac reveals that when Dobson was first arrested Truby forgot to take Dobson's belt and he tried to hang himself. Sinclair asks why he should care and Mac reveals Gerrard saved Dobson and covered it up and has his prints on the belt to prove it. Gerrard tries to defend himself but Sinclair tells him to shut up and asks Mac what he whats. Mac offers a deal: Mac won't tell the press or the DA about this, if they drop this witch hunt. Sinclair decides to drop the investigation and clears Mac of all charges. Season Four You Only Die Once After Flack gets into a high-speed chase with someone who robbed Flack's girlfriend and the robber ends up dead, Sinclair personally visits the scene. Sinclair scolds Flack since the NYPD has a strict policy against high-speed chases. Mac briefs Sinclair that the MO of the thieves matches the ones that robbed Sinclair and he gives Mac a blank check to find these thieves for making the department look bad. Mac calls Sinclair to the NYPD Crime lab where he shows him a copy of an email where Sinclair's clerk is accusing him of sexual harassment. Sinclair asks where he got it and he reveals the thieves stole jewelry and electronic information but most likely didn't know what they had. Sinclair says the clerk is lying while Mac says he doesn't care and brought it to his attention to warn him that once an arrest is made he has to turn this over to the DA, who may not be as discreet as Mac. Sinclair asks if the press can find it, Mac says it is their custody only so it is unlikely and Sinclair asks about the progress he made in the case. Mac says they are closing in and Sinclair leaves while Mac makes a comment about how this could be similar to what he did to Mac about Dobson. Somehow the email is leaked and Sinclair blames Mac. It is later revealed that the 333 Stalker hacked into their system and leaked it. The Thing About Heroes... When Mac went to Chicago to look for the 333 Stalker, Sinclair receives a call from the commissioner asking why Mac is investigating a murder in Chicago. Sinclair doesn't know and goes to find answers at the NYPD Crime Lab. When he gets there, Detective Stella Bonasera tells him Mac is in Chicago on personal business which Flack agrees with. Sinclair gives Mac twelve hours to get back home and warns them not to cross any lines due to misperceived loyalty and sends Flack to bring him back. Sinclair later hears that Mac is raiding the apartment of Drew Bedford and arrives to ask for an explanation. Mac tells Sinclair this is about him finishing was the 333 Stalker started and has no other motives, political or otherwise. Sinclair decides to go in with Mac and his team to raid the apartment. They don't find Bedford but Mac disappears and Sinclair finds his service weapon. Season Five Sex, Lies, and Silicone Due to a citywide financial crisis, Sinclair implemented a new policy where they take NYPD officers off their posts and replace them with three civilian contractors. This later caused lax security at the Medical Examiner's office where a break-in happened and Sinclair goes to the NYPD Crime Lab. Sinclair argues with Mac on the changes in security with Sinclair justifying it at necessary for the bottom line. Sinclair also tells them that the Ann Steele case is a top priority for the mayor. Sinclair asks about the intruder and Mac in turn asks why he called Ann two hours before she died. Sinclair tells Mac she wanted a parking ticket fixed and that he knew her from events they would occasionally both attend. Sinclair also tells mac she was known as a "fixer" and Mac suspects he is hiding something, which Sinclair confirms. Mac later informs Sinclair they caught the intruder after he broke into Ann Steele's apartment. When Mac says the guy's name is Anthony Martino, an ex-NYPD officer turn PI, Sinclair recognizes the name and calls him a bottom-feeder and asks what he was after. Mac tells him he thinks he was after Steele's flashdrive and someone in power gave him access to bypass security at two different buildings and subtly suggests it was Sinclair. Mac remembers that last year Sinclair's clerk, Jane Scott, was suing him for sexual harassment and suspects Steele fixed it for him. Sinclair angrily states it was a false accusation and any of her clients could have hired Anthony and leaves Mac. Sinclair comes by to congratulate Mac on catching Steele's killer, Trevor Jones, and asks to see Steele's flashdrive. Mac informs Sinclair that he sent it to the evidence warehouse and reveals he know he paid Steele $25,000 to keep Jane quiet. Sinclair reveals he didn't want it tried in the court of public opinion, her word against his to protect his marriage. Sinclair then reveals he told his wife everything after Steele turned up dead and that she is leaving him anyway. Mac tells Sinclair he is sorry for him. Enough Due to the budget crisis, Sinclair tells Mac he has to lay off Adam Ross and six lab techs or sacrifice more efficient DNA testing equipment. The staff sacrifice some paid vacation days to buy the tech some more time until some more money comes in. The Past, Present and Murder After Robert Dunbrook throws an intruder out of his office window and kills him, Dunbrook marches into Sinclair's office demanding Taylor be taken off the case. Sinclair tries to assure him that there is no vendetta, that if he were truly a suspect, they would be talking to him in an interrogation room. When Mac implies Dunbrook thinks he can buy the NYPD's loyalty with a $20 million dollar donation, Sinclair reigns Mac in and assures them both the NYPD cannot be bought. After Dunbrook leaves, Sinclair warns Mac to tread lightly and anything incriminating against Dunbrook goes through Sinclair. Mac goes to see Sinclair and tells him he suspects Dunbrook has Steele's flashdrive and has circumstantial evidence connecting Dunbrook to the murder of an evidence clerk that stole it and needs a warrant. Sinclair says he trusts Mac but it isn't enough for a warrant and Dunbrook will smell it coming so they need more evidence to make the case airtight to protect the both of them. Sinclair later personally serves a search warrant to Dunbrook and he and Mac find a gun in Dunbrook's safe. Sinclair and Mac discover Steele manufactured a false paper trail to make two FBI agents look corrupt to protect one of her clients. Those two agents broke into Dunbrook's office to get the flashdrive back and clear their names. Season Six Dead Reckoning A woman's DNA is later connected to twenty-two cases across three states and seven different jurisdictions: twelve murders, eight burglaries and two robberies. Sinclair goes to the NYPD Crime lab to ask Mac for answers when the Mayor wants answers because the press somehow got hold it this information and Sinclair has a press conference in thirty minutes. Mac asks for more time to work the case and Sinclair promises to do what he can. When the so called "Phantom Killer" is supposedly caught, Sinclair plans to hold a press conference to announce her arrest until Stella arrives to warn him this arrest isn't the end to the case. Sinclair's patience pays off and it turns out an employee that works at the factory that produces cotton swabs to collect DNA contaminated the swabs when she wouldn't wear gloves when handling them. As a result, the cases aren't all connected to one criminal and there is no "Phantom Killer" and announces the arrest of two suspects in four of the homicide cases and ends the press conference. Season Seven Hide Sight When a sniper starts terrorizing the city, Sinclair issues a direct order to Mac through Chief Ted Carver to not mention the word "sniper" to the press. Season Eight When Mac quits, Sinclair appoints Jo Danville as the interim boss while he searches for a replacement. He stops when Mac comes back to the Crime lab and Sinclair pulls his retirement papers. Sinclair later moves Sergeant Danny Messer back under Mac's command as a Detective after he was framed for murder by officers working under him. Season Nine Today is Life When a cop shoots an unarmed kid, Sinclair tells Mac to just hand both cops involved to the grand jury and let them sort it out. Appearances Category:CSI: New York Characters Category:Males Category:Detectives